Abstract

The internal and external demands of football have been the subject of increasing attention over the past 30 years. Global positioning systems (GPS) have become widely used by sports teams to quantify training and non-competitive match demands. Although GPS technology has been used in football for some time, its sensitivity in determining training and match demands has been debated. The recent integration of accelerometers and GPS may therefore provide a more detailed analysis through quantifying all actions as a total mechanical stress. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to compare the internal and external demands of youth football players in four playing positions during small-sided games (SSGs) played with different player numbers in comparison to 11-a-side match play (MP).

Based on the accelerometry data in the present study, it is likely that the physical demands of football and more specifically SSGs have been underestimated when determined using more traditional time-motion analysis methods and GPS technology. The findings of the present study demonstrate that the PL and acceleration / deceleration patterns observed during SSGs are greater than those observed in friendly MP. Therefore, the SSGs employed may offer a ‘density’ type-training stimulus through imposing relative demands on acceleration and deceleration in excess of those experienced during MP.